1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stabilization system for apprentice robots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of robots to achieve a high quality paint finish on large objects, such as automobile bodies, has been known for some time. However, if one wants the robot to be able to blend the primary coat, the ornamented and interior surfaces of the body in a satisfactory manner, such paint application presents many problems.
One must begin by defining a paint application trajectory which is continuous and which results in a uniformly thick coat without runs and "drips" and the recording of the trajectory must be continuous. The successive positions and stroke speed at each point are important and must be recorded in order to later permit the painting robot to automatically reproduce the desired trajectory with all its characteristics. Only then may one proceed to the data entry phase or apprenticeship.
In direct data entry, the operator "holds the robot's hand" and guides it along the trajectory. Although such a method is practical in the case of small robots, it rapidly becomes less practical as the robot gets larger because of greater inertia and inevitably greater friction. When the robot's manipulation is rapid and powerful, direct handling even presents a real danger to the operator.
A method for replacing the robot with a pnatographic data entry device for the entry phase and for the recording of the trajectories is known. The construction of the P.D.E.D. duplicates the geometry of the robot in a lightweight structure. In spite of the light weight of the structure, its stabilization or balancing becomes indispensable to relieve the pressure on the operator responsible for the maneuvering of the P.D.E.D.
In the case of P.D.E.D. with six pivot axes, experience has shown that stabilization reached with the aid of counterweights and a compensating spring sufficiently lightens the P.D.E.D.
In the case of a paint application trajectory on an automobile body for which one wishes to successively coat the exterior, and then the interior, experience has shown that one must use a robot which has seven pivot axes. The stabilization of the corresponding P.D.E.D. with seven pivot axes is singularly complicated.